9. Neurophysiology of Higher Cognition (Karius) Flashcards
at a neuronal level, cognition is produced by what?
extensive synaptic interactions produced by the pyramidal neurons of the neocortical association cortices
What are the four components of the language pathways?
- conceptual pathway-what concepts are you trying to communicate
- mediational pathway-concepts relayed via medial pathway to language implementation pathway
- language implementation pathway-Broca’s and Wenicke’s
- Speech
Learning Language in Infancy
- < 6 months: recognize all sounds that could be language as distinct sounds
- 6-9 months-begin to eliminate irrelevant phenomes, sounds outside of native language
- 1yr: babbling; first words indicate that all irrelevant phenomes are gone
- all spoken words are intermingled regardless of language
Language learning in adulthood
new language is coded for in neighboring areas of the brain (as opposed to the main language centers for the primary language?)
Emotion Comprehension occurs by recognizing facial expressions in which brain regions? Then bringing in the emotional component which then occurs where?
- superior temporal sulcus and fusiform gyrus
- amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, prefrontal cortex
Recognizing emotions occurs where?
- mirror neurons, amygdala and via prosody
Prosody: tune and rhythm of speech and how these contribute to meaning
- Amygdala controls use of eyes and directs gaze to triangle when analyzing emotion
Prosody occurs where?
- primary auditory cortex
- posterior superior temporal sulcus-for meaning
- frontal cortex-for emotional content
What is the Theory of Mind?
ability to understand mental states (belief, desires, intentions) of others and appreciate how they differ form ourselves
Theory of Mind requires which brain regions?
- amygdala w/ connections to medial temporal lobes (memory, sensory process) and orbitofrontal regions (sensory and emotional process)
- accessory paths: language and executive functioning (frontal lobe)
What provides the visual input that we work with?
What identifies the motion?
What identifies the purpose of the motion?
posterior sector of the superior temporal sulcus
posterior mirror neuronal system
anterior mirror neuronal system
What are the three neural components needed to make decisions about risks
stimulus encoding system
expected reward system
action selection system
What is the function of the stimulus encoding system?
- decisions with known risks
- orbitofrontal cortex, ventromedial frontal, striatum
- predicts the consequences of actions
What is the function of the expected reward system?
decisions with ambiguous risks
components: amygdala, basal ganglia, insular cortex, intraparietal cortex
What is the function of the Action Selection System?
- decisions with ambiguous risks
- anterior cingulate cortex
- learning from mistakes, encodes results
6 components of cognition
- language
- social cognition
- decision making
- executive function: anticipate, reason, planning
- memory
- visuospatial perception
What is true regarding learning a 2nd language during the language aquisition phase? after phase?
- activates same pathway as 1st language: why its easier to learn 2nd language as child
- after activates adjacent region of Broca
importance of social cognition? what are its divisions?
important in ability to function in interpersonal and social situations. Persons ability to infer emotional state of another from observable info (prosody and facial expression)
- emotion comprehension (recognition)
- theory of mind
how would emotion comprehension be affected with damage to amygdala?
spends little time looking at persons eyes and doesnt methodically scan face
What is the circuit for imitative behaviors?
mirron neurons of amygdala interact with limbic structures via insula
What are the areas which percieve prosody and their function?
- primary auditory cortex: sound processing thru identifying sound characteristics
- right post-sup temporal sulcus and secondary auditory cortex: give meaning to those sound characteristics
- frontal cortex: judge this emotional stimulus
How to anterior mirror neurons, posterior mirror neurons, and posterior sector of superior temporal sulcus differ?
- Post Sect of sup temporal sulcus: Provide visual input
- Posterior MN: id MOTION
- Anterior MN: id PURPOSE of motion
what are anatomical substrates for the stimulus encoding systems involved in decision making? what is this systems function?
- orbitofrontal cortex
- ventromedial prefrontal cortex
- striatum
Function: evaluates evidence available to make decision
what are anatomical substrates for the action selection system involved in decision making? what is this systems function?
- Location: ant cingulate gyrus
- Function: learns and encodes subjective value of results; also error detection
what are anatomical substrates for the expected reward system involved in decision making? what is this systems function?
- Basal ganglia
- Amygdala
- Insular cortex: process social emotion
- Intraparietal cortex: SS process and planning/intent
- Function: predicts expected reward
What system deals with explicit (known) risks?
Stimulus encoding system: predicts action consequences
- orbitofrontal cortex, VM frontal, striatum
What system deals with ambiguous risk?
- primarily expected reward system: asks what is the reward? amygdala, Basal ganglia, insular cortex, intraparietal cortex
- eventually the action selection system: learn from mistakes. Anterior congulate cortex
